How do you prevent damping off?
Answers:
1. Use quality, sterile potting soil to start your seedlings. Select a neutral pH potting soil, since acid soils are ideal for fungus growth.
2. Before planting, make sure the seed-starting flat has been well watered.
3. Sow seeds thinly. Crowded seedlings do not dry quickly after watering, resulting in humid, moist conditions - the perfect environment for fungus spores to germinate.
4. Sprinkle a thin layer of sand or perlite on the surface of the soil. This step will keep the stems dry at the soil surface where damping-off occurs.
5. Prop the top of the seed-starting tray up a few inches to allow for air circulation.
6. Avoid overwatering seedlings. A light misting may be enough if the soil was saturated thoroughly prior to planting.
7. Place an electric fan near the seed-starting tray. The added air circulation will prevent fungus from developing.
8. Water around the base of the plants once they emerge from the soil to avoid wetting the foliage.
9. Water in the morning so they will have a chance to dry at the surface quickly.
Other answers:
Use captan in addition to the routine stated above. If you do the math, you will see that because of the amounts used compared with the total yield, virtually none will end up inthe food.
Use captan in addition to the routine stated above. If you do the math, you will see that because of the amounts used compared with the total yield, virtually none will end up inthe food.